Kensington Swan's view on aspects of the construction industry

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Monthly Archives: May 2016

At the Certified Builders Association conference in Wellington Dr. Smith has given attendees a sneak peek into a discussion paper being prepared for later this year, which looks at shifting risk away from councils and back onto those carrying out the work, by making it mandatory for builders to guarantee their work (RNZ article here).…

Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith has said that his office is currently reviewing a report on reforming the Unit Titles Act. The Act was last updated in 2010. The Government’s review appears to have been prompted by a strong push from the property sector to tighten up regulation around the governance of apartment buildings,…

The latest update on the continuing steel mesh saga is, again, bad news. The Commerce Commission has just released scores of failed steel mesh tests under an Official Information Act request. The results not only show that three out of five companies have failed to meet the standard, but also reveal discrepancies between the testing…

As the cost of methamphetamine contaminated housing increases more calls are being made for the government to take action. Judy Morgan, the managing director of a Northland property rental company, has seen the issue first hand. In a letter to parliament she has called on the government to improve testing standards. This would require developing…

Although election promises don’t carry the weight they once used to, they are still widely made by contenders in democratic elections and therefore still need to be analysed. One of the more interesting ones that has emanated from the US primaries is the Trump Wall. If elected, Trump has stated that he (/America) will construct…

Rebecca Powers wrote, for the Washington Post: “Good architects design within local context. And in Miami and Miami Beach, that context includes beautiful people and plentiful cars – often exotic ones.” Architects in Miami have taken this context and run with it, with beautiful and creative parking garages popping up around the city. The most…

This blog post was written by Peter Fernando, a senior associate specialising in commercial contracts and information technology law. In an earlier blog we discussed a case where liability limitations were incorporated into a contract via a signed document that was referred to in that document. In a judgment released in May 2016 the Court of…

In February 2016 Cyclone Winston hit Fiji, destroying about 24,000 houses and inflicting material damage initially estimated to be about $US460 million. Following this devastating event, the government of Fiji has committed to rebuilding safer and stronger homes. This is reflected in the Prime Minister of Fiji’s announcement last month that confirmed the availability of…

Noise complaints for construction work in Christchurch have jumped from 169 in 2011-2012 to 707 for the 2015-2016 year. Commenting on the hike Christchurch City Council Environmental Team leader Nigel Grant stated that noise was to be expected during a rebuild of this magnitude, and that a bit of common courtesy between neighbours in notifying…

Recently, the High Court has ruled that Hyun Su Park, who had no relevant experience or qualifications when he built a 3 storey home in Auckland in the early 2000s, is liable to the new owners for negligently misstating that the works complied with the building code at the time of construction. Mr Park emigrated…